Enlarge ImageRequest to buy this photoERIC ALBRECHT | DISPATCHAlthough Hartley made a Division IV regional final last season, standout Jacob Matuska wants more — namely, to reprise the state championship the Hawks won in 2010.

Jacob Matuska would prefer to be remembered not for the way last season ended but for the way he
hopes the 2012 season
will end. The two-way standout for Hartley, after all, tends to see the proverbial cup as
half-full, not half-empty. Such optimism is what coach Brad Burchfield likes best about his Notre
Dame-bound senior leader, known affectionately as “Moose.”

“Jacob is almost too good to be true,” Burchfield said of his tight end/defensive end. “He’s a
model for everyone in our program to follow.

“Jacob and (tailback) Ja’Wuan Woodley are our front-end guys in every regard. They’ll get a lot
of credit for our success, and they’ll be willing to accept the blame if things don’t always turn
out the way we hope.”

Such was the case in November, during a thrilling Division IV regional final in Mansfield
between defending state champion Hartley and top-ranked Kenton.

The Hawks scored with 1:40 remaining, pulling to 30-28. On the two-point conversion try, Woodley
took the snap out of the wildcat formation, ran right and lofted a pass to Matuska in a corner of
the end zone. The ball slipped through his fingertips, ending Hartley’s chances for another state
title.

“Anytime the ball hits your hands, you think you should catch it,” said Matuska, known for the
huge, soft paws that help him excel on the basketball court, too. “My parents, the coaches and my
teammates were very supportive afterward. Nobody blamed me.”

Still, he struggled.

“I dwelled on it quite a bit for a few days until I came to the realization that this is
something we should use to build on,” Matuska said.

“In 2009, we lost our final game to Ready in really tough fashion, and it kept us out of the
playoffs. That was a motivating factor in us coming back strong and winning the state in 2010.
Hopefully, our loss to Kenton will have the same kind of effect this year.”

With 15 starters returning, Hartley will be loaded again.

Matuska — second-team All-Ohio at tight end as a junior — is expected to play an even greater
role. And he’ll return healthier: He played all of last season with a torn meniscus in his left
knee. He had surgery after the playoffs and missed a large part of basketball season.

Although the Hawks pass sparingly — last season, Matuska made nine catches for 135 yards with
four touchdowns, along with six two-point conversions — he is regarded as the best blocker for an
offense that averaged 38 points and 375 yards a game.

Matuska, 6 feet 5 and 250 pounds, recorded only 33 tackles in 2011, but his primary role was to
control the outside and flush opposing ball-carriers into the teeth of the middle linebackers.

“If I were a college coach, what position would I recruit him for?” asked Burchfield, scratching
his head. “Wow, that’s a tough one.

“I’m a defensive coach, so I’m a little biased, but he’s invaluable on that unit. He changes the
complexion of what (opponents) try to do.”

But then again . . .

“Our offensive coach probably would argue with me,” Burchfield continued. “He (Matuska) caves
the whole wall whenever we run. We move him around a lot to get the ball to our strengths. Defenses
have to account for him near the goal line. He’s an incredible weapon on both sides of the
ball."

Matuska’s final two college choices, in fact, recruited him for different positions: Michigan
wanted him at tight end, Notre Dame at defensive end.

“I’ve always enjoyed tight end a lot, but Notre Dame sees me as only getting bigger with
year-round weight training and being more of an impact player at defensive end,” he said. “They
didn’t rule out the possibility of using me at tight end in goal-line situations. I had a big
checklist of pros and cons, and in the end Notre Dame was the big winner.